Edging

History

In eighteenth- and nineteenth-century gardening practice, edging referred to materials placed along the outer margins of planted areas (such as beds or borders) or along circulation routes (such as walks or avenues). Edgings were composed predominantly of plants, such as boxwood (also called box). Edging could also be made of inert substances such as earthenware, stone, iron, or wood, as Charles Marshall indicated in 1799. The choice of live or inert materials often depended upon the site, intended function, and dimensions of the edging. Early nineteenth-century treatises indicated that plant edgings were used to mark the boundaries of flower beds and borders in order to distinguish dug ground from walks, and to shore up and stabilize the worked earth of the bed or border [Fig. 1].

At Monticello, recent archaeology has shown that Thomas Jefferson used “brick.bats” (or pieces of brick placed flat, end to end) to mark the perimeters of a garden bed. The use of such edging in beds was often dictated by the garden style. For example, according to A. J. Downing (1849), flower beds cut into the turf (as in the irregular garden or the English garden), did not require edgings, whereas flower gardens featuring beds separated by walkways (as in the French or embroidery garden), required edgings (see Bed).

H.A.S. Dearborn (1832) when recommending planting arrangements at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass., argued that plant edgings should be regarded only as a means of outlining space and not as barriers. Therefore, he believed they should be kept fairly low so as not to obstruct passage or viewing. If an obstacle or barrier was required, then the use of what Downing called “durable” material was often appropriate. A painting of about 1765 illustrates such an edging [Fig. 2].

In An Encyclopaedia of Gardening (1826), J. C. Loudon recommended the use of basket edgings (such as dwarf fences made of basket willows) to keep small dogs and children out of flower beds. Basket edging fell within the category that Loudon defined as “moveable edgings”: edgings made of easily portable materials, such as earthenware, boards, and iron shoe tines stabilized in the ground.

As a result of the industrial revolution, decorative ironwork became cheaper and more accessible to the middle-class con.sumer in the early nineteenth century. Many of the gardens described by Loudon and Downing advocated the use of ornamental ironwork in outlining flower beds, particularly those set in lawns to emulate cut flowers in baskets or vases [Fig. 3]. Yet, artifice in edging was not necessarily dependent upon industrial technology. In 1816, G. Gregory described edging flower beds with wood that was painted to resemble lead. Edgings, particularly those of woodwork or stone, also had the advantage of extending the lines and architectural style, or “character,” of the house into the garden, thus unifying house and garden, as Jane Loudon noted in 1845. Even edgings made of plants, especially boxwood, could carry architectural overtones. Treatise writers insisted frequently that box edgings be kept neat and trim, creating an architectonic effect.

Although box was repeatedly cited as the preeminent edging material—see, for example, J. C. Loudon (1826), Noah Webster (1828), Thomas Bridgeman (1832), and Robert Buist (1841)—other plants also were used, such as daisies and violets. Zebedee Cook, Jr., in his 1830 address to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, disputed the superiority of boxwood and claimed that grass was preferable for edging. M.A.W., writing in 1840 in the Magazine of Horticulture (a journal that, in general, touted box), also disparaged the nearly universal use of this plant. This writer believed that while box was useful for edging large garden features (such as avenues or broad walks), its scale overwhelmed small parterres and dooryard gardens. George William Johnson, in his 1847 definition, echoed this idea when he stated that box was appropriate for ornamental edgings, while herbs were more suited to kitchen or utilitarian gardens. Grass could be substituted for box, Johnson explained, but cautioned that it must be kept “in order.” Joseph Breck also cited thyme, hyssop, winter savory, and pinks as possible edging material, but concluded that “nothing . . . makes so neat and trim an edging as box.”

Given Jane Loudon’s 1845 assertion that “[m]uch of the beauty of all gardens . . . depends on the neatness and high keeping of the edgings,” there are surprisingly few usage records of the term. In contrast, the numerous treatise citations instructing gardeners to employ edgings in the layout of their gardens underscore the importance that the feature held for gardeners.

-- Anne L. Helmreich